Category: Ranker Webinars

Top Features of Super- 25 group
1. 32 tests to cover the whole syllabus
2. Subject wise specific Critical input aimed at prelims-2021
3. Mentor Calls from Santosh sir twice a week (before and after test)
4. Weekly 2 Zoom meetings for discussions and Important topics discussion
5. Individual Personal attention by Santosh sir
6. Daily Monitoring of weekly targets
7. 360 Degree approach to learning Current Affairs of one year
8. Learn 3 fold approach of attempting prelims questions
Results of Super-20 held last year gave result output of 60% i. e. 12 out of 20 students mentored by Santosh Sir qualified prelims-2020.

Reconquer batch-2 features:
1.32 Tests for prelims-2021 for fast forward revision and practice 
2.Overall mentorship by Santosh Gupta sir
3.Current affairs Magazine by CivilsDaily of one year
4. Weekly 2 zoom meetings with me for Monitoring progress
5. Score boosting videos

Context

• The world is facing gloomy times in midst of the pandemic, conflicts, and natural calamities.
• Recently, we witnessed the horrors caused by nature in Chamoli district, the ground of the famed Chipko movement in Uttarakhand.
• Nature’s warning is evident with visible cracks in its erstwhile harmonious relationship with humanity.

This essay/article emphasizes the need for building an ecological civilization and descending from the present cliff of uncertainty towards peaceful living and inclusive development and respect for nature.

The first industrial revolution that took place 250 years ago was primarily with coal and steam; the second with electricity and oil; the third with computers and its accessories; and now the fourth is a fusion of technologies in the physical, digital and technological worlds.

Civilizational chaos

• The wave of industrial and green revolution marked a major turning point in earth’s ecology and humans’ relationship with the environment.
• During the 20th century, with the detonation of the atomic bomb, humanity entered a new era.
• Thus, we gained the power to destroy ourselves (mutually assured destruction), without the wisdom to ensure that we must avoid doing so.

Looming threats to mankind

• Widespread industrialization, the proliferation of factories, destruction of forests for the construction of massive dams & power stations and the migration of people has all caused serious disturbances in the ecosystem.
• The resulting climate change and global warming is a serious threat to the present as well as the future.
• Both nature and world peace are under threat.
• All these developments coupled with geopolitics have put humanity on a cliff and presents dangerous situations.

Future of Peace

The future of peace and harmony in the 21^st century is likely to be directly linked to issues concerning five key realities of life today:

1. Ecology, global warming, and climate change
2. Nuclear weapons, the emerging technology of warfare and the continuing arms race among nation-states
3. Geopolitics and nationalism
4. Religious extremism and
5. Poverty and inequality

We do not know how to retrieve the present dangerous situation away from its self-destructive ways. This needs to be appreciated in a threefold perspective:

[1] Nature

• Today there is a credible threat to human survival from global warming and climate change with the potential to damage the lives and habitats of billions of people in different parts of the world.
• The enormity of the challenge of conservation of ecology and halting climate change is formidable and calls for making changes in our behavior and thinking.
• At the heart of the matter is: How do we move towards building fresh sensitivities for conservation in our civilizational processes?

Five events of the recent times need to be particularly referred to:

1. Outbreak of pandemic SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in Hong Kong in 2002-03;
2. Bushfires in Brazil and Australia of 2019;
3. Continuous extinction of species
4. Forest fires in California alongside the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and
5. Coronavirus pandemic

These five events have given us signals that if ecology problems are not attended to urgently the world may not need world wars to destroy itself.

[2] Science

• In the last decades of the 20th century, the focus of society has shifted decisively towards science and its domineering daughter, technology, both in the western and developing countries.
• This has led to the globalization of products, cultural values, and information. It is integrating markets and trade.
• But what becomes of environment and nature in such a scenario, remains a matter of great concern.
• We have been brought to an alarming situation primarily on account of excessive greed, faulty planning, insensitive politics, and lack of imagination.
• Technology, being value-neutral, has accelerated the pace of the downward journey.

Outcome: Climate change

• Climate change and global warming are posing serious problems.
• The biggest polluter has been the release of carbon dioxide.
• To control it with speed, we have to change the terms of the market. It is based on the law of profit.

A change would mean rejecting the general line of dealings in the market in the world for the sake of the long-term interests of the human race. Are we ready for this major break? And, here wisdom comes.

[3] Wisdom

• Wisdom is defined as ‘the ability to use one’s knowledge and experience to make good decisions and judgments.’
• Wisdom is a product of experiences and reflections not only of the present generation but of the civilizational processes of a nation and also of the world.
• Human beings can destroy their environment as well as can rise above petty interests, use technology and reverse the process of destruction of plant species and minimize carbon emissions.
• At the present juncture, if we do not make use of our cumulative wisdom, nature will be harmed and succeeding generations will blame us for our failure.

We have to keep the Vedic precept of ‘माता भूमिः पुत्रो अहं पृथिव्याः ’ (‘This earth is our mother and we are its sons.’) in our minds.

• Thankfully, on 12 December 2015, the Global Climate Accord was reached among 195 countries of the world in Paris.
• The Paris Accord as it came to be known, commits countries to actions and policies that would restrict the rise in global temperatures ‘well below’ 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by the year 2100.

Way Forward

• We have to generate hope, courage, and respect for nature.
• We should employ science and human ingenuity with determination to overcome the present state of despondency.
• If science, spirituality, and wisdom go hand in hand, one can create a better world on this earth. Mahatma Gandhi said: ‘Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not for every man’s greed’.
• It should become the maxim of the post-Covid world, that it will need farsighted leadership and efficient institutions of governance.
• There is an imperative requirement to contemplate and work towards building an ecological civilization that would outline the ways of living in harmony with nature.

Bahudha Approach is based on the maxim enjoined upon us by the Rigveda. It proclaims: Ekam Sad Vipra Bahudha Vadanti The Real is One, the learned speak of it variously.  This provides for dialogue among different religions, cultures, and ways of living. It celebrates diversity and respect for harmonious living and nature.

Conclusion

• The post-Covid world would be a different world.
• It has made evident that we are all interdependent and have to work for sharing economic benefits as well as fruits of science together, irrespective of religious, ethnic, economic, and cultural divides.
• We have to move towards building an ecological civilization and descending from the present cliff of uncertainty towards peaceful living and inclusive development and respect for nature.

A new Ministry of Cooperation has been created to strengthen cooperative movement. This separate administrative structure was proposed in Union Budget earlier this year. New ministry is expected to streamline processes for cooperatives and realise the vision of ‘ Sahkar se Samriddhi’.

In this article we will discuss and analyse all aspects of this issue.

What is a Cooperative?

• A cooperative is “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned enterprise”.
• Cooperatives are democratically owned by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors.

Cooperative Movement in India

The history of cooperatives in India goes back to more than a hundred years and they continue to stay relevant due to their grassroots reach and ability to bring economic growth to underserved sections.

• The cooperative movement, which has its roots in the 19th century Europe, developed in pre-Independence India in response to agricultural distress and indebtedness.
• Their growth was fostered, first by India’s erstwhile British rulers and, post-Independence, several steps have been taken to put assist in their growth and functioning.
• The formal launch of the cooperative movement in India occurred with the introduction of the Cooperative Societies Act in 1904.
• However, it notes that even before the passing of that law, “the practice of the concept of cooperation and cooperative activities were prevalent in several parts of India”.
• In 1912, another Cooperative Societies Act was passed to rectify some of the drawbacks of the earlier law.
• The next landmark change came in 1919 when cooperation was made a state subject. That allowed the various states to come up with their own legislation governing cooperatives.

Who can form a cooperative in India?

• Cooperatives are geared towards benefiting the chunk of Indian people — about 65 per cent of the country’s population — who depend on agriculture and related activities.
• According to the Co-operative Societies Act, 1912, at least 10 persons aged above 18 years with common economic objectives, like farming, weaving, consuming, etc, can form a cooperative society.

Which are the key sectors where cooperatives operate in India?

1. Consumer Cooperative Society
2. Producer Cooperative Society
3. Co-operative Credit Societies
4. Marketing Cooperative Society
5. Housing Cooperative Society
6. Co-operative Farming Societies

• The various kinds of cooperatives in India include consumers’ cooperative societies, which seek to protect the interest of general consumers by making goods available at reasonable rates.
• Then there are producers’ cooperative societies that protect the interest of small producers by enabling access to raw materials, tools and equipment, machinery, etc. are examples of producers’ co-operative societies.
• Among the most famous cooperative brands in the country, Amul developed out of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, which is owned by 36 lakh milk producers in Gujarat.
• It is an example of a cooperative marketing society, formed by small producers and manufacturers who find it difficult to sell their products individually.
• Among other types of cooperatives are cooperative credit societies, which accept deposits from members and grant them loans at reasonable rates, and cooperative farming societies, which are formed by small farmers to work jointly and thereby enjoy the benefits of large-scale farming.

Why needs cooperatives?

It is easier to understand the need of the cooperatives by knowing its specific objectives. They can be summed as follows:      

• Cooperatives are good, reliable opportunities for growth
• They provide an opportunity for collective decision making.
• They eliminate the unnecessary profits of middlemen in trade and commerce.
• They aim to protect the rights of people both producers and consumers.
• They promote mutual understanding and education among their members and people in general.
• They bring together people at the grassroots and provide them collective bargaining power and benefits of economies of scale.
• They provide an economic model with a higher level of entrepreneurial or social sustainability and often work as pressure groups to voice the views of their members in a larger market.
• Being a part of a co-op improves your creditworthiness as a producer as well as a consumer.
• They are easy to join, ensure equitable distribution of profits, prioritise welfare over individual profits, are stable in their functioning and output, and receive a substantial amount of government support.

Why need a separate ministry?

• Over the years, the cooperative institutions have experienced drying out of funding.
• While the capital came from the Centre, in the form of equity or working capital, only a few states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka got to enjoy it, while other states could not receive much.
• It had become important to restore the structure of these cooperatives.
• Under the new Ministry, the cooperative movement would get the required financial and legal power needed to penetrate into other states also.

How do these cooperative structures influence politics?

• The cooperative institutions ranging from the village-level primary agricultural credit societies (PACSs) or the urban housing societies have been the starting point of a lot of present leaders.
• That’s because these cooperatives elect their own board of directors.
• Many veteran politicians of the day have been in connection with the cooperative movement in the past.
• They often tend to start their political career through cooperative elections.
• Control of co-operatives allows politicians to influence decisions upstream (who gets a cabinet seat) as well as downstream and ancillary fields (where are the votes coming from).
• They are a source of funding and patronage.
• A canny politician can leverage his/her power at the cooperative level all the way to state and national prominence.

Challenges for cooperatives

• Capital: As the income from agriculture in the rural sector has declined drastically there these banks need a new business model to function.
• Regionality: Milk cooperatives are a huge source of income for the farmers but the growth of the dairy sector is dismal. The North and northeast do not contribute substantially to the dairy sector.  There is a need for policies for supporting ancillary services for the dairy sector.
• State laws: State cooperative Laws are not in tune with the current socio-economic situation.

Opposition from the states

• In Maharashtra and Gujarat, there are many big cooperative societies engaged in sugar and milk production, power looms, and running urban and rural non-agri credit societies.
• In Mh alone there are around 21,000 primary agriculture credit societies and 31 district cooperative banks.
• It is believed that around 150 MLAs in Maharashtra are connected to this sector.
• The Left parties have also expressed concern over the move, stating that it seeks to undermine the federal structure of the country. 
• Cooperative societies are a state subject in the Constitution’s 7th Schedule.

What will be the new cooperation ministry’s role?

• Separate administration: With a focus to help deepen cooperatives as a true people-based movement, the ministry is mandated to “provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement”.
• Facilitation: The ministry will streamline processes for ease of doing business for cooperatives and enable the development of multi-state cooperatives.
• Expansion: With the coming up of handicraft and weavers’ cooperatives and so on the farmers’ income can be doubled.
• Economic boost: It will contribute towards economic growth and development. It will help in identifying other sectors where the cooperatives can come up which will be beneficial for the ones down the value chain.

What should be the key areas where the ministry should focus?

• Rural sector: Double farmers’ income can be achieved by growth of the food processing industry. India can learn from the Netherlands in this aspect.
• Housing for all: Mass housing through cooperative societies in urban areas as majority urban poor live in slums.
• Consumer cooperatives in urban areas: There are none in the country with credible work. As these can act as a balancing sector.
• Ease of doing business: EODB norms should be extended to all cooperatives so that they are able to function without obstructions.

Way forward

• The new ministry should empower cooperatives to form their SPVs.
• It should promote companies under the companies act which are formed by the cooperatives.
• The cooperative should not be dependent only on govt or borrowing for capital.

Reference: